Photos taken in 1999 & 2007

Up until the extensive renovations that took place before the '04 season, City Stadium was a no frills classic old ballpark. And much to my surprise when I visited in '07, the renovations have done little to alter the original structure. Yes, it now looks more like a lot of the new parks with an open concourse over looking the field and luxury boxes stacked above it. But the difference at City Stadium is that they were able to keep the roof over the majority of the seating area. This allows for shaded (and dry) seats for those who want them while also allowing the folks in the luxury boxes to be extremely close to the action, since the boxes are situated on the front edge of the roof. The '04 renovations included new chairback seats in the grandstand behind homeplate, new concession stands, a new entranceway, a new press box, and a team store (which the ballpark did not have before). Ticket and concession prices are both very reasonable, though the food is nothing special. Most of the concession options are the standard ballpark fare with BBQ (pulled pork sandwiches) the only unique item on the menu. The Hillcats feature a mascot named Southpaw who does very little besides sign autographs and annoy people. Several typical between inning promotions like the dizzy bat race and Hamburger Helper Toss are performed. But overall the atmosphere is rather relaxed as there are no sound effects and no blaring music. While the city of Lynchburg is surrounded by mountains, the ballpark does not take full advantage of the views. While some mountains can be seen in the distance from the higher seats, the better views are actually behind the ballpark. Still the setting is quite serene which makes for a pleasant night at the ballpark. Having seen City Stadium before and after the renovations, I was quite impressed by the changes that were made. Certainly the old version was outdated and needed some upgrades, so I was happy to see that many modern amenities could be added without losing the charm of the original ballpark. I just wonder why other new ballparks couldn't be built in a similar way - with both a large roof and luxury boxes. But for some reason the ballpark architects seem resistant to change their blueprints despite the fact that fans really seem to want a roof, especially on hot or wet nights. Hopefully they will look at City Stadium as a new example of how a ballpark can be built or renovated. (Note: The first four photos above are pre-renovations)